Laser disc - did you sell them or keep them? (1 Viewer)

[Jeff D Han]

I had a laserdisc collection of about 240 titles when
I got into DVD collecting about 5 years ago. Now I have
about 115 lasers left. When I upgrade a laser title to
DVD, I just give the laser to a friend. The only laser
I regret not having now is the longer version of It's
A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (I sold that one). At least I
still have the original Star Wars movies (the THX CLV
faces discs). They are still in good shape- no rotting
yet.

 

[Matt Stone]

Same here. Thankfully, there are plenty of nice HTFers that are usually willing to sell LDs for a good price

My problem is that I've been trying to get a few rarities (The Game CC, Frighteners Signature Collection) for a couple of years, but I just can't bring myself to pay the insanely hight prices.

 

[David Norman]

Not in Jeff's category, but I have well over 1000 discs and probably closer to 1250 titles. I've toyed with getting rid of some of them, but can't seem to pull the trigger and everytime I start to sort, I end up on Ebay trying to get this disc or that disc that "I always wanted, but wasn't going to pay $100+ when it was new." The cover art is priceless on some of them much like LP collectors covet -- DVD and CD's jsut can't compete on that side.

I have virtually all the SW releases including several copies of some variants including the time compressed early P/S discs, a few old Discovision discs, about 1/3 of the Criterions (incl the Bond CAV with commentary), a complete set of the US DTS discs, almost all the Universal Signature collection (I think Frighteners is still elusive), most if not all of the Disney boxsets, etc.

I'm still missing several of the Looney Tunes boxes which I may eventually add, a few of the Japanese SW discs, and many of the Criterions which I constantly fight the urge to 'go collecting.'

 

[James Pfann]

I'm right there with you. I couldn't believe the price for the Frighteners collection the first time I saw it.

I'm to the point where I want to upgrade my Iscan to the ultra version so I can size the letterboxed stuff to fit my tv properly. The box in a box view is getting old.

 

[Todd_Brown]

I'm one who only got into Laser Disc after DVD hit and I got interested in Home Theater. I am activly seeking Laser Disc titles to add to my movie lbrary. I will get films that are not on the DVD horizon (Revenge of the Creature), have a better presentation (War of the Worlds stereo mix), or are just rare (Song of the South). I love movies, and I view Laser disc as just another way to get them.

Todd

 

[BillGo]

My collection of LDs has diminished to just a few, after selling/trading each, once a DVD version was released. Fortunately, a store in the area (Laser Blazer in Los Angeles) has taken them in trade for DVDs although, not having visited them for some time, I don't know if they still do so.

Furthermore, after upgrading to a larger TV monitor, I have had to remove my hardly used Pioneer Elite DVL-91 combi player from my HT setup due to lack of space.

Here's what I have left:

WIDESCREEN LDs

Grumpy Old Men
Homicide
The Keep
Star Wars trilogy (original versions; Pro Logic)


NON-WIDESCREEN (PAN & SCAN) LDs

D.C. Cab
Distant Thunder
Electric Dreams
The Fourth Protocol
Impulse
The Jerk
My Blue Heaven
Rustlers’ Rhapsody
Tap
Time Bomb

Several of these are available in DVD versions, but not OAR. Also, I am aware that the Star Wars trilogy and Rustlers' Rhapsody are due out on DVD but I don't have a clue when and if the others will ever be replaced with DVDs. I can only hope.

 

[Mark_Wilson]

James Pfann, I upgraded to the Ultra some time last year but hadn't watch an LD on it until about a month ago. Been busy. All I can say is DAMN! I should have done it a year ago. First disc I watched was the Frighteners DC (Sig. Coll) and then the Criterion CAV Blade Runner. I could not believe how good Blade Runner looked. I watched it again the next night too! Just ordered an iScan HD today but not for LD.

 

[greg_t]

Alan,

Thanks for the offer, but I'm only after the X9. I want the MUSE capability. If you know anyone with an X9 that might want to sell, let me know. Thanks.

 

[James Pfann]

Thanks for the heads up on that Mark. My list of wants just keeps growing, but I think the Ultra just jumped a couple of places.

 

[alan halvorson]

Good luck on the X9 search. You're not likely to find one at a decent price. I wished I hadn't gone cheap and instead sprung for the X9. Or, I could have picked up several on Ebay a couple years ago for a decent price. Have you tried Nick Santini? He's located in Japan and can probably find a used HLD-X9 for you. Nick is not cheap, but to tell the truth, you don't have a lot of alternatives. I can vouch for Nick; he's who I bought my S9 from.

 

[John Sparks]

I have 325 LD's and quite a few are still sealed. They play on a Pioneer DVL-700 and used to be played on a Mit. 55" 4x3 analog RPTV and they looked great!

Now that I've upgraded to a Mit. 65" 16x9 RPTV, they look like crap!

I'm only missing a few titles but it looks like I'll never get rid of them. Big Emma wanted to give me $6 a piece but I never took here up on it.

Who knows what I'll sell them for if the price is right.

 

[CraigL]

Here's what *I* have left:

Star Wars: Definitive Collection
Bram Stokers Dracula: Criterion
Blade Runner: criterion
Boyz N The Hood: Criterion
The Game: Criterion
Seven: Criterion
ET: Special Edition
Jaws: Special Edition
Glengarry Glen Ross: Special Edition
Madonna: Blonde Ambition Japan
Madonna: Blonde Ambition France
Madonna: Who's That Girl Japan
Madonna: Virgin Tour

 

[GaryEA]

Indeed. Thanks for backing me up on that one, Gary.

 

[Paul Strilka]

While picture quality does suffer, I find the sound from my old lasers to have a full, rich presence. Alien, Apocalypse Now and Jurassic Park CAV, all sound better when compared to the thin sound quality of the DVD counterparts.

 

[RobertR]

That was a needed clarification not present in the original post.

 

[Hartwig Hanser]

Ignorant question (since I found The Game Criterion Collection for 10 Euros in a sale): How much are the insanely prices demanded for it normally? Just curious. You never know, when you need a little extra money

P.S. I kept all my LDs and replaced only selected ones with the DVD.

 

[Bleddyn Williams]

I have a couple of hundred discs. Since we bought a house two years ago, they have lived in the basement. I currently don't have my LD player connected to my rig.

But I don't think I would part with them - I loved the super packages like Criterion's Seven, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, T2 SE.

And what would I get for giving them up? Pennies, it looks like. LD sadly has no value these days it seems. I'd rather hold onto them and pop down to the basement now and again and look through them like my old records.

My ol' Sony 333 player is on the ropes. I'd love to replace it with something just so I know I could play the discs, but I've no idea what player to get - so anyone with ideas, feel free to chip in!

 

[Tim Glover]

 

[alan halvorson]

Hartwig: The Game, Criterion, currently fetches up to $150 on Ebay. The Frighteners Signature Collection will probably net $200+ and has hit $300. There are still a lot of titles that can garner the big bucks. Heck, even some titles with DVD counterparts still do well. But it's ending. The laser disc section on Ebay has become a boring place to watch. The great selloffs are mostly past. Some desireable titles that used to saturate the laser disc section, and still haven't appeared on DVD, now rarely appear. Apparently, as this thead seems to indicate, most still in the LD game are satisfied with their collections and don't see the need to dump them. Good for them; bad for us who are still looking.

Want to hear a sob story? I bought a copy of The Frighteners Signature Collection from a forum member a couple years ago, and it was lost in mail! This is the only package that I've either sent or was to receive that didn't arrive. Why couldn't it have been some mundane, who-cares-about-it LD? (The member refunded my money).

 

[Drew Salzan]

I was an avid LD collector (about 200 in my possession). While I have replaced many of my LD's for DVD's (better picture, more supplements and 5.1 mixes), I wouldn't part with any of them. The same for my vinyl LP's.

Firstly, many have NOT been issued on DVD. I have a wealth of RKO material, ALL Dawn of Sound box sets, The Golden Age of Looney Tunes (vol.'s 1, 2 and 3), many MGM musicals (many with alternate audio programs of prerecording sessions), numerous Pioneer Special Editions (Lost Horizon, My Sister Eileen, etc., etc.) and many others.

Secondly, I'd rather keep them than sell them for a fraction of what I payed for them. I consider them collectibles and still think they look good (on a standard TV anyway).

My only concern is how long my Pioneer CLD-D605 LD player lasts. I try to minimize it's use. While it plays CD's as well, I only use it to play my LD's. I rely on my Pioneer Elite DV-C36 for everything as a result (DVD's and CD's). If you have the space, I suggest you hold on to them. One never knows.